Bleeding Roses, Current Hiatus
by Madoneko
Summary: AU team 7 fic. One abandoned at birth, another orphaned by the slaughter of his family. Sakura joins, her tragic path yet to be revealed. Can they stick together and heal one another? Can they even survive LIVING together? NaruSakuSasu and slight KakaIru.
1. Wisps of Sky

**Bleeding Roses**

By Corruption Inc.

Rating: _T_, may change to _M_ later on.

_On the final strike, she collapsed. Kneeling there, she prayed mercy to the sky. And as the roses bled for her, she whispered her final goodbye.

* * *

_

Act 1: Wisps of Sky

"This job can be so taxing." A brown haired man sighed as he arrived to his two-story home and slipped off his dark brown jacket, folding it neatly across a dining room chair. He flipped some mail down onto the table, consisting of bills, junk mail, and a subscription to an adult magazine for his perverted roommate. He glanced at the clock reading 7:08 pm and sighed again.

He brought a tan hand up to the scar on his face and rubbed it absentmindedly, walking into the kitchen to prepare dinner for his somewhat awkward family. He turned the knob on the stove, gas ignition immediately lighting up and fetched a worn silver pan from the wooden cupboard next to the fridge.

Tonight seemed so ordinary. One thing the man didn't expect was that something was going to be decided tonight that would alter the rest of his life. But, then again, everything he did altered the rest of his life.

"Naruto! Sasuke!" He called upstairs to one of the two bedrooms up there, trying to gather enough energy as he could to deal with them. He heard shuffling of feet and a few thumps before the two boys came sliding down the stairs. Naruto, the blonde, blue-eyed boy, ran up to him first.

"Hey Iruka!" He said enthusiastically before propping himself up onto one of the barstools at the counter. "What's up?"

Iruka smiled, he couldn't help but love Naruto. He was so joyful. Iruka had found him abandoned on the step of a vacant house and brought him home as a baby. 'That was hard work..' Iruka reminisced, remembering how he ended up having to care for the little demon. "Eh, hard work, something _you_ wouldn't know _anything_ about Naruto." Iruka grinned to show he was just teasing.

Sasuke stepped in to the kitchen, smiling slightly, having heard the majority of the conversation. He sat down on the third barstool, one away from Naruto and smiled. "He's right you know."

Naruto pulled a strange face at the teasing. "Hey!" He said in mock-defense. "I do more work than Kakashi!" He grinned again and Sasuke chuckled.

Iruka laughed. "That's not saying much."

"About what?" Naruto heard Kakashi say and he turned around casually to face the silver-haired man, still smiling, and not at all startled by this, considering the man popped up randomly all the time.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing, nothing." And then he grinned.

Sasuke smirked slightly and looked up at their caretaker. "Hey Kakashi."

The tall man chuckled, the silver hair that fell in front of his left eye moving slightly, looking at the ebony haired sixteen-year-old. He took Sasuke in as a favor to his deceased best friend, and now he was a full-fledged part of their dysfunctional family. He smiled. "Right. Hey guys."

Iruka lifted a hand from his cooking in a hello. "Yo. How was work?"

Kakashi slipped onto the barstool between the two boys, folding his arms across the counter. "Not bad. I had a trainee who refused to scale the rope today. He was your guy's age actually. Shika-…Shikamara…maro…something like that. But he was too lazy to even try to climb the damn thing. It was very frustrating."

Sasuke shook his head. "Why is he even on the team then?"

Kakashi shrugged. "He said he wanted PE credits."

"Hey guys," Iruka said to Naruto and Sasuke, want to set the table for me?"

Naruto pouted. "No not really."

Kakashi shoved him off the stool. "Go now. Both of you."

The two boys groaned as Sasuke got plates and Naruto grabbed silverware and headed into the dining room. Five seconds after they were gone, Kakashi spoke in a loud whisper to Iruka.

"I found another one."

Iruka continued to make dinner. "Ah. Well, we have one extra bed upstairs in Sasuke and Naruto's room. He can lodge there until we find out what happened."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. "Well, that's not the thing. You see, it's a girl."

The brown-haired man froze for a moment and then continued cooking the stir-fry. He replied in a casual tone once again. "We can't keep a girl here Kakashi."

Kakashi shook his head. "I was afraid you'd say that."

Naruto finished laying down all the silver ware and smiled proudly at his work. Sasuke shook his head. "Dumb ass, you set them the wrong way, _again_."

Naruto glared at the ebony-haired boy. "Listen bastard, I've been doing this longer than you have. I know which way the knives go."

"The knives are on the right idiot. Forks on left."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "No forks are on the right."

Sasuke glared. "The left."

"Right."

"Left."

"Right."

"Left."

"Righ-"

"Shut up. Listen." Sasuke abruptly said.

The two teenagers listened closely and faintly heard Kakashi and Iruka talking heatedly about something. They moved to the wall beside the door to hear closer.

"Iruka, as far as I know she has no where to go. And you know damn as well as I do the orphanages here treat kids like shit."

"It's not right. One girl living with five guys? If she didn't feel uncomfortable, which seems unlikely, I would, and I'm sure the boys would feel awkward-"

"Damnitt, sometimes you're so frustrating. She'll be fine. The boys will have to deal. And after we figure out what happened to her parents, family…we can find her some other relative. C'mon Iruka, just do me this one favor."

The two boys heard Iruka sigh. "Fine, but she's your responsibility, got it?"

"Sure."

Naruto whispered to Sasuke quietly. "Dude, a girl moving in?"

Sasuke glared at nothing in particular with a harsh look. "Yea, I know."

"You two should learn to be quieter when you intend to eavesdrop." They heard Kakashi say barely loud enough for them to hear. Naruto shot a glare at Sasuke, and Sasuke one back, and they walked into the kitchen.

Naruto sighed. "Sorry."

"Ditto." Sasuke muttered.

Kakashi sighed and Iruka turned to face them with a bowl of finished stir-fry. He gave them a worried look. "How much did you hear?"

"Kakashi plans on bringing a girl home." Sasuke stated bluntly before Naruto could say anything. Naruto, who had been meaning to, shut his mouth.

Kakashi smiled. "Well, they heard everything."

Iruka shot him a light glare. "How can you be so easy-going about this?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Now we don't have to tell them."

Iruka sighed, not willing to argue. "Alright, fine. Well, dinner's ready."

The four walked into the dining room and sat down, the brown-haired man placing the bowl of stir-fry in the center. Naruto began to help himself, while Sasuke sat with his hands in his lap, just staring at the large amounts of food Naruto was dumping onto his plate.

Iruka looked down and pulled a strange face. "Hey Naruto, the forks are the wrong side again."

Sasuke smirked.

"Damnitt!"

* * *

Sakura breathed in the worn fabric of her small blanket, longing to keep warm against the chilly morning air. The sun hadn't risen, though she was sure it was around 6 am in the morning. And it _was_ spring, where's the warmth? She sighed, nestling her nose deeper into the blanket trying to pick up the faint scent of her mother. 

_"If you tell anybody, I'll kill her."_

Her green eyes forced back tears and she swallowed, trying not to think about it, though she sincerely hoped she was still alive. The wooden park bench was getting uncomfortable and she shifted her weigh to the right, leaning against the metal arm if the bench. She'd been loitering here for only three days, and still she was glad they hadn't found her. But someone had noticed her…

There was this tall silver-haired man who walked through the park everyday on the way to the subway station, and yesterday he asked her where her parents were. Did she answer? No way in hell. She may be desperate, but she wasn't stupid.

The birds in the park cawed and chirped, signaling their awake. A small family ignorantly passed her by. The small little boy took one look at Sakura and began to cling onto the hem of his mother's skirt. 'God, I must look like shit.' The green-eyed teenager thought to herself.

She reached her arms past the safe haven of her blanket and into the cold air, with every nerve in her arm awaking with a stinging sensation. She reached up to her hair and pulled out the tie, letting the mess fall down in awry. She pulled a silver hairbrush out of her small backpack, combing back her tangled hair and then retying it into a high ponytail.

Satisfied for now she placed the brush back into her bag and allowed her arms to retreat to the warmth of the blanket once again. Her stomach then gave off a large grumble of hunger, and she put her hand to it, pushing back the ache. She hadn't eaten in two days, since she ran out of money and food. And begging wasn't all that appealing. She sighed again, nestling her head back into the blanket, resting her jade orbs.

"Hello again."

Sakura lazily lifted her brilliant green eyes to find the same man from before. She tucked her chin into the blankets, staring into his lone dark grey eye. He seemed friendly, so she decided to give it a shot. It's not like she had anything much to lose anymore.

"…Hi." She said, is such a quiet tone it was almost a whisper, but he heard.

"Slightly more talkative then yesterday then?" He smiled calmly.

She tucked her chin into the blanket and gave a weak nod.

His eyes remained locked on her features, though in a caring, paternal kind of a way. One she'd seem her friends' fathers show towards their children. He chuckled softly. "Do you have family?"

She paused for a moment, contemplating the answer. Did she? Sakura weakly shook her head in response, attempting to use as little vocabulary as she could pertain to. She was not all to keen to trust the male species.

"Ah." His detective tone suggested he had confirmed something. His relaxed smile somewhat comforted her. "Well, if you would like, you could stay with me and my roommate."

At this Sakura's eyes widened, she had known it from the start. He was all up to no good. If she went he'd probably take advantage of her, and then kill her with a crowbar or block of ice or something. Then a team of supposedly smart people would come into the scene and try and figure out who did it, while the old lead detective would be quoting Shakespeare or something. She'd watched the criminal investigation shows before. She knew how it went.

The silver-haired man noticed her reaction. "No, no, nothing like that. My roommate and I have already taken in two other orphaned children. Well, they're teenagers now."

She looked at him skeptically. He continued casually. "Yes, Iruka found Naruto on the step of a vacant house when he was just a baby. Practically raised that demon. I took Sasuke in when his clan was massacred by his delusional older brother. Itachi is Sasuke's only living relative, well, that we know of, and he's locked up in the mental asylum. Sasuke visited him once, but that didn't go over well…" He paused. "Am I boring you?"

Sakura shook her head. No, in fact, she was quite intrigued. Maybe there were some others out there who had it worse than her.

He smiled. "Glad. My name is Kakashi, by the way. Yours?"

Sakura swallowed a little. She still didn't completely trust him, but he at least seemed credible, and he was the only thing she had. "I'm……Sakura."

He smiled again, his one visible eye bending in a curve. "That's a pretty name. Unusual, yet very unique."

She smiled faintly and was about to ask about the two other orphans when her stomach rumbled loudly. A light pink blush spread across her face as the man chuckled.

"Really, you can stay with us, if you would like. I'm sure Naruto would like another person to keep him company."

She looked down at her blanket and fiddled with her fingers beneath. She took a deep breath. A home would be nice.

"If you could…" Her pale face looked up into the face of the man standing before her, Kakashi, and he smiled.

"Thank you."

* * *

Naruto slung his black backpack over his right shoulder and called down the school way hall disturbing at least five teachers from their classes. "Sasuke, stop messing around and get your ass down here!" 

Sasuke rolled his eyes and walked towards the blonde with an identical backpack hanging off his left shoulder. "Damnitt idiot, just because we don't have seventh period doesn't mean the whole school does."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Well s_orry_. Since when did you care?"

Sasuke glared at him. "Since we got detention last week. Twice."

Naruto shrugged. "How was I supposed to know the principal was going to get mad at us for 'skipping' classes? I didn't think he'd bust us."

Sasuke looked at him skeptically. "Uh huh."

The two boys stepped outside onto the cold ashen concrete and walked along the main road, cars whizzing at their side. After about twenty minutes of silence, Naruto decided to break it.

"Hey, Sasuke."

Sasuke groaned. "What?"

"You really think Kakashi's going to bring home a girl? You know, like us?"

"No. They were only kidding Naruto."

Naruto stopped. "Really?" Sasuke kept walking and Naruto ran to catch up to him after a few moments.

"Sarcasm, idiot." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's called sarcasm."

Naruto made an 'o' shape with his mouth in what seemed to be understanding. "So, what do you think she'll be like?" He looked up with cerulean eyes into the grey clouds of November. "Maybe she's blonde, or brunette. And maybe funny. And nice. Or she could be mean and bratty. I dunno, what do you think bastard?"

Sasuke sighed and closed his eyes as calmly as he could. "What's got you so hung up on this girl anyway?"

"She's one of us, Sasuke! And she's _moving_ in. Most likely to our bedroom."

Sasuke opened his eyes. He'd never thought of that. "Damn, you're right. I can only hope she's quieter than you Naruto."

Naruto glared at Sasuke as they crossed the street that led to the house they lived in with Kakashi and Iruka. It was fair sized, and the bricks that were once bright red had turned into an ashy terra color.

They came up tot the door and Naruto fished around for a key in his pocket. He came up empty-handed. "Damnitt, I forgot the key."

Sasuke glared. "You really are an idiot Naruto." He sighed. "Iruka should give me the key instead."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Why, because your _so_ much more _responsible_?"

"Yes."

"Argh! Damnitt all Sasuke! For just once can you-"

Naruto was interrupted by the opening of the door. A small pale face framed with strands cotton candy hair appeared into view. Two jade eyes peered out. "Hello?" The person said quietly, but loud enough to be heard.

Sasuke glared, and Naruto jumped in surprise. "Agh! What the fuck are you doing in our house?!"

The green orbs widened as she opened the door wider, until half of the girl's body came into view, the other half hidden by the door. She was wearing a long and worn dark red sweater where the arm length reached up to her fingertips and down past the pockets of her worn grey jeans. Her pink hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and her eyes shimmered green. She was shorter than both Naruto and Sasuke, but she was filled out pretty nicely, with somewhat of an hourglass figure.

She opened her cherry lips as if she was going to sing but instead came out a soft speaking voice. "Kakashi said I could stay." Said the girl with forced calamity, still recovering from Naruto's outburst.

Naruto blinked a couple of times. "Wait, are you the girl Kakashi said was coming to stay?"

"No, she's an auditor." Said Sasuke sarcastically again.

"I dunno Sasuke, she seems to young-"

Sasuke hit Naruto over the head. "You dumb ass, you never catch the sarcasm. Of course she is."

Naruto rubbed his head. "Well, damnitt Sasuke, stop with the sarcasm. Do yah even have the potential to speak normally?"

"Yes, but only with people who aren't as dumb as a rock."

"You bastard!"

The pink-haired girl looked from one to the other, slightly amused and then slightly curious. "Uh…are you…going to come in?"

The two boys looked from each other to her, and then Sasuke abruptly said "Yea." and stepped in past her. Naruto followed clumsily behind. Both dropped their identical backpacks at the foot of the stairs. Sasuke went upstairs and into the room he a Naruto shared, and now this girl too, and closed the door.

Naruto watched him walk up and then shouted up to the closed door. "That's not very polite Sasuke!" He turned to Sakura and grinned.

"Hello, my name is Naruto. What's yours?"

She smiled weakly but politely nonetheless. "Sakura."

Naruto grinned. "Well, it's nice to meet yah! I'm now officially your brother!" He paused thinking, then returned to his blithe. "Or somethin' like that anyway. Not like, related, related. I mean, if you wanted to go out for ramen sometime-"

She giggled softly at her brother's….well more like roommate's antics. She smiled. "Yea, sure, I guess."

He grinned again. "Yes!" He paused looking around. "Well, for now what should we do Sakura-chan?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. I've been reading those books all day." She pointed to a stack of Shakespeare and history novels.

He looked over and made a face. "For fun? How many of those old things did you read? Weren't they, like, _boring_?"

She blushed slightly. "Well yeah. And I read all of them. I enjoyed then, personally, but that's just me." She flashed a sheepish smile.

Naruto's eyes were widened. "All of them?! God, you must be hella freaking smart Sakura-chan." He paused, thinking and then made a dash for his backpack. "Would you help me with my homework?"

He brought it back to the dining table where her books sat and threw it down. He grinned. "Please?"

She smiled. "Sure thing Naruto."'

* * *

(My first chapter, reviews appreciated, so I know to continue. :D 


	2. Faded Crimson Cloth

**Bleeding Roses**

By Corruption Inc.

_She stood up with sudden strength, pushing back the pain. She ran past the broken shed and stolen car, and straight out into the pouring rain._

* * *

Act 2: Faded Crimson Cloth 

Iruka walked into his home through the open door and folded his brown jacket once again over a dining room chair, yet only to find it was occupied. He looked down. The blond teenager was actually _doing_ his homework. He rubbed his eyes. "Naruto?"

He looked up, blue eyes locking with the brown of the older man's. "Hey Iruka!"

Still in shock Iruka blinked. Once, then once again. Then he peered suspiciously at the boy. "Naruto…what are you doing…?"

"Uh….homework?" The blonde boy looked up with wide blue eyes.

Iruka rolled his eyes. "Pft…yeah right."

Naruto glared at the brown-haired man. "Seriously! Sakura-chan has been helping me do it!"

Iruka glanced up, only to find that there was indeed a girl at the table, and… she had pink hair. He stood there for a few moments, gears clicking together in his mind.

Tick….Tick…Click.

This must be the girl Kakashi said was coming home!

Iruka blushed at his ignorance. Oops. That was pretty rude of him. He shuffled over to where the girl was sitting. "Sorry about that, you must be Sakura."

She opened he lips as if she was about to say something, but then abruptly closed her mouth and nodded.

He smiled as friendly as he could. "I'm Iruka, as you probably have guessed. I see you've met Naruto here."

She glanced over to Naruto who was staring at the paper scratching his head with his pencil. He looked extremely confused. She smiled at how silly he looked. "Yep."

He nodded, also smiling at the boy. "Well, if you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen." He walked through the dining room as emptiness swept through the air. He felt as if he should perhaps say something more. "Oh…and….uh….welcome home."

Sakura smiled as he walked past and into the kitchen. She'd like to call it that.

* * *

"Naruto! Sakura!" Iruka shouted out to the dining room, brown eyes focused on finishing the pasta he had being trying to cook. 

The blonde boy sped into the tiled kitchen with Sakura close on his heels. Iruka smiled at them both, eyes bending into a curve. Sakura had been here for two days now, and even though she was very quiet, she was obedient (well, compared to Sasuke and Naruto, anyway) and hadn't gotten into any trouble.

"Set the table for me please."

Naruto groaned. "_Again_? You know, _Sasuke_ hasn't done it in forever! Ever since Sakura-chan moved in he's been shut in his, _our_ room, ignoring us!"

Sakura giggled gently. "I don't mind it Naruto, I can actually do it by myself now." She said softly, but they'd gotten used to her quiet tendencies.

The blue-eyed boy jumped in protest. "No no no, it's not that, it's just that _Sasuke_ bastard hasn't done anything!"

The pink-haired girl rolled her eyes playfully and then delicately prodded him teasingly on the shoulder as she walked into the dining room, china plates carried in her arms, which remained hidden by the same long worn red sweater, pale fingers peeking through the cloth.

He sighed, defeated, and carried in the knives and forks. She set down the plates as he set the forks and knives around them. When she had put down all five plates (one slightly askew at the edge of the now-cramped table) she looked back at the wooden stand, watching the blonde haired boy set the rest of the table.

She parted her lips to say something and halted herself, observing quietly until he has finished his task. He sauntered over to where she was standing. They stood there for a few moments in silence, before Sakura hesitantly said, "Are…are the forks supposed to be on the right Naruto?"

He shifted his cerulean eyes over until they grazed the clothed table and another moment of silence fell upon the room. He turned back to her and scratched his head uncertainly. "I don't remember exactly, but I'm pretty sure they're on the right."

She shrugged. "Okay."

As soon as that was settled Iruka walked past them from the kitchen and set the bowl of crème pasta on the table, rushing back into the kitchen to fetch the accompanying tomato sauce. Sakura sat down daintily at her seat beside the askew one (Naruto _insisted _he sit there) and watched as the blonde boy plopped himself down on the computer chair beside her.

Iruka, meanwhile, called up the stairs to Sasuke. "Dinner!"

No answer.

The brown-haired man sighed and as he did a silver haired man popped up from behind him, smiling kindly. "Hey Iruka."

The brown-haired man twisted around and smiled back, relieved and glad to see Kakashi. "Hey." He said before turning back to the stairs, shouting up to the closed bedroom door. "Sasuke! Get your ass down here!"

And still, no response.

The silver haired man let his eyes travel up the stairs, watching the silence until he felt Iruka sigh. He turned to the shorter man, eyes set into a determined gaze, grey locking with auburn. They stood there for a couple moments of comfortable silence before Kakashi smiled. "I'll go get him."

Iruka nodded, also smiling again. "Thank you." And with that he swiveled around walked back into the dining room. A few moments of silence passed by again.

"What?! Whaddoya mean we can't eat yet?!"

The sliver-haired man sweat dropped abruptly at the sound of Naruto's voice. He returned to his calm composure a few seconds later however, staring in deep though at the staircase. Sasuke had been closing himself in ever since Sakura moved in. Kakashi couldn't imagine why, but at dinner the previous nights Sasuke said absolutely nothing and only occasionally glared at the poor pink-haired girl, before returning back to holing himself into the room.

The man rubbed his left eye absentmindedly, before setting his shoulder back and lugging his tired body up the stairs. There were a lot of stairs tonight. More than Kakashi recalled being there. If only he could just poof himself up there.

After what seem like fifty slow, _agonizing_ stairs later Kakashi had finally reached the top of the staircase, feet planted in front of a closed bedroom door. Why was he here again? All of a sudden he heard the faded noise of a guitar soloist pumping through worn speakers, and then he remembered. Sasuke.

He knocked on the door, only as a polite measure. There was smaller than a one percent chance Sasuke would open the door at this moment in time, about as slim chances as Iruka going to work dressed as a pink, polka-dotted seven-legged elephant with a top hat and a moustache; or even as slim a chance as Naruto doing his homework.

Which was about as small of chances as they got.

And as he suspected there was no response. So, he casually turned the door knob, opened the door and slipped onto the faded red striped covering on the bed beside the window. The bed that was no longer spare.

He sat there, watching the ebony-haired boy lie in the top bunk, listening to his CD player. After a few minutes, the younger boy broke the silence with a glare to the ceiling. "What do you want?"

"Why aren't you coming down to dinner?"

"Is that all you wanted?"

"Sasuke." Kakashi said sternly.

"…"

"We can do this all day."

"Fine."

"Okay."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Still here you know."

"Hn."

"Take your time."

"…"

"…"

The silver-haired heard a faint sigh.

"I don't like the new girl."

"Why?"

"She's hiding something."

Kakashi sighed. "Sasuke, just because all teenagers aren't completely loud and outgoing like Naruto doesn't make them suspicious."

"…where did you find her?"

"The park beside the subway."

"Hn."

"Why, may I ask?"

"She reminds me of a girl I saw on a missing poster the other day."

"What?" Kakashi paused. "Wait, you were looking through the posters again?"

"…"

"I told you, you're not going to find anyone."

"The fire can't cover up everything." Came the determined reply.

"Sasuke, everyone was there, no one was left."

"…"

"And taking out your anger on this girl won't help-"

"No! Kakashi, it's not like that. I guarantee that was her on the poster."

The silver-haired man regarded him for a few moments. "Fine, bring it to dinner tomorrow."

"Fine."

"And Sasuke?"

"…yes?"

"Please, just let them go."

Two sets of ebony eyes locked, one pair restraining tears.

* * *

Sakura stepped back into the dining room, faded socks sliding against the wooden floor. Naruto looked up. "Sakura-chan!" 

Iruka smiled. "So, what did they say?"

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, the stopped abruptly, regarding the words in her head that continued to repeat.

"…_beside the subway."_

"_Hn."_

"_Why, may I ask?"_

"_She reminds me of a girl I saw on a missing poster the other day."_

"_What?" Kakashi paused. "Wait, you were looking through the posters again?"_

"…"

"_I told you, you're not going to find anyone."_

What did they mean? Had her parents put out a wanted poster?

"…they were talking, and I didn't want to interrupt them." She felt the words spilling out, slightly louder than she'd dared to speak before.

Iruka didn't seem to notice the volume change; he just frowned to himself, thinking, before looking up with somewhat of a forced smile. "Okay, why don't we eat then, I'm sure they'll join us soon."

Naruto shouted, "YOSH!" and almost literally dived into his plate of food.

The brown-haired twenty-two year old shook his head and sighed, starting on his own dinner. He stopped abruptly, and then shook his head, switching the fork in his hand for the knife. "The silverware is the wrong way again Naruto. Why didn't you tell him the right way Sakura?"

Sakura shook her head and muttered a quiet apology. She loathed apologies.

"_I am sorry for all I have done. I won't do it again."_

She regarded the wooden floor as she paced quietly over to her chair and slipped in beside Naruto. The food looked great, but she'd lost her appetite.

Did her parents want her back? Well, of course they did…but…she didn't think they'd call attention to the family like that…with a missing poster…dad must really want her home…which strangely didn't surprise her in the least. He was probably afraid she's run to the police. But…a missing poster? It seemed such a reckless thing for him to do…

She was called back to her dinner with a sudden gentle nudge to her arm. She looked to her side and saw Naruto watching her with worried cobalt eyes. "Sakura-Chan? Are you okay?"

She smiled weakly and nodded, pursing her lips together. "Yeah…just lost my appetite." She smiled sheepishly.

He gave her a worried glance, not completely convinced and then suddenly grinned, trying to cheer her up. "Oh okay then. Sorry, I guess my bad eating habits must've put you off your dinner, eh?" He put a hand behind his head and laughed.

She smiled, and he stopped laughing to look over, and smiled back.

Iruka glanced up from his dinner and watched the two, smiling kindly at one-another. He smiled.

"What did we miss?"

All three people at the table looked up to the doorway where Kakashi and Sasuke stood, one with a jovial expression on his face. Iruka smiled back to the silver-haired man. "Oh, not much."

* * *

Tension was high. The stakes were well done. The table was completely silent except for the obnoxious chewing noises spewing from Naruto's mouth. Sasuke regarded the silver-haired adult sitting beside him in silence. He had brought the poster today, and confirmed, it was the Sakura on it. 

Who in hell's name did she think she was, anyway? Some goddess who's life at home wasn't good enough, so she had to come and invade his private home? She had to free load his adopted parents? Was that good enough for her?

He hated runaways. Their life isn't good enough…drama blah, blah, blah. Bullshit. They had parents, they had a home. So why not just be fucking grateful for it?

He shot a hateful glare towards the pink-haired girl across from him and they locked eyes, her green orbs filled with dread. She bowed her head and returned to picking at her food, refusing to make eye contact with him.

He was about to expose her, and he knew Naruto absolutely hated runaways, even more than _he_ did. That was one thing they both agreed on, and Iruka and Kakashi knew. He smirked. "So, you'll never guess who I saw on a missing poster."

Kakashi pursed his lips. Shit. This wasn't going to end well.

Sakura froze instantly. Naruto looked up from his dinner, his mouth still half full with food. "Who?"

Iruka looked up moments later with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You were looking though the posters again Sasuke?" He sent a worried look to Kakashi, who shrugged in return.

Sasuke rolled his obsidian eyes. "Yeah. But anyway, this little pink-haired bitch was on a missing poster. Her _parents_ are looking for her."

The whole table froze. Sakura had her jade eyes connected with his dark pair again, and the look she gave him told him she was on the verge of tears. Her eyes were filled with so much terror he almost felt sorry for her.

"Liar." Sasuke looked to his side and saw Naruto glaring at him intensely, scarlet dotting his cobalt eyes.

The ebony-haired boy shook his head and reached into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a neatly folded piece of white paper. He unfolded it and handed it to Naruto. The blonde looked it over, fury and sorrow veiling his face. Sure enough in the center of the page was a picture of Sakura at age twelve.

Naruto let out a small, animalistic growl, and turned to Sakura. "So it's _true_. This-" He pointed to the pink-haired girl in the picture. "-is _you_."

By now, all eyes were on the pink-haired teenager, and her emerald eyes were brimming tears. She opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. Then, she closed it and sheepishly nodded.

At this, the enraged blonde growled again and then all of a sudden uncharacteristically leaped out of his seat, plunging at Sakura headfirst, tackling her to the floor.

All the wind was knocked out of the pink-haired girl as she fell to the floor, but when she hit the tiles she cried out in pain. Naruto had landed on her with each hand gripping her upper arms tightly.

By now Iruka and Kakashi were at the pink-haired girl's side, trying to pry Naruto off the crying girl, while Sasuke was at the side, watching intently. He hated to admit, seriously loathed it, but seeing Naruto on top of Sakura was sort of…invigorating. He shook his head. Damn, he was messed up.

By this time Kakashi had successful pulled Naruto off the pink-haired girl and was currently holding him by the arms to prevent him from pouncing on Sakura again. Iruka was begrudgingly tending to the tear stained girl.

"Sakura, by having you here when your parents were still alive…still wanted you, you could have gotten Kakashi and I put in prison on kidnapping charges. We didn't file any papers on adoption."

She still refused to look up at him, eyes locked with the granite floor.

"Now, we could offer to take you home but I-"

"No."

Everyone watched, startled, as the pink-haired girl stood up, wiping away the tears in her eyes. "I have already caused you enough trouble. Thank you eternally for your hospitality. I am so very sorry." She bowed.

Everyone looked at her in wonder. Iruka noticed that a dark liquid seemed to be seeping through the red fabric of the upper sleeves, right where Naruto had grabbed her. It was extremely hard to see however, the burgundy fabric masked it to seem no more than water.

Then she stood up, a solemn look plastered onto her face. "I am sorry for all I have done. I won't do it again." And then she abruptly turned herself around and headed to the front door.

Iruka hesitated for a slight moment, and then called after her.

"Wait! Do…do you want me to tend to the injuries on your arms?!"

She paused, halting her stroll for a few moments and she stood there, staring at the cold oak door, before she looked back to the group with an inexplicable smile on her face.

"No thank you, I'll be fine."

And like that, she walked out the front door and into the cold February night.

Kakashi let go of Naruto as they watched the girl walk out the door. Various expressions dotted the faces of the males still in the room. Awe. Shame. Worry. Disbelief.

But the most dejected expression of them all was the little expression of the twelve year old in the copied photograph. Sitting on a scarlet sofa in a violet party dress, the girl sat there gazing emptily at the camera lens.

The look on her face was of absolute misery.

* * *

Sorry for the long wait guys, June was really busy for me. 

Thank you for the reviews. Everything you need to know (ie ages) has already been mentioned or will be revealed as we go, no worries.

Also to get more reviews I'll mention now that the 50th reviewer get's one yes/no question answered of their choice about the story. :)

Next update should be within a month. Thanks for the support!


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